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Thursday, 16 May 2013

Sludgy Reboot

Although I
have a lack of time because of my two years old boy, my ceramics activities and
my big garden, I am actually reading a lot. Not during the day but at night,
before falling asleep. The problem is that I can’t read just one book: Beside
my bed I have up to five books that I am reading more or less synchronously.

There is quite
a similar situation in my studio: I am working on several projects at the same
time. This can be both, rewarding or frustrating. And when it switches to the
frustrating side I have to make a short break. Usually I use this hiatus to thoroughly
clean the studio and the tools. Last week I used the break to recycle the clay.

When you work
with clay, you always have clay scraps. I have a huge lidded container, where I
put all of the clay leftovers. I have experimented with many different types of
clay during the last few years so I decided to use one container for all high-fire
stoneware clay bodies. The porcelain has its own canister.

Before I put
clay scraps in the container I let them dry well. Dry pieces end up in the
recycle-canister where I pour enough water to cover them completely. At this
point you can actually hear the dry clay scraps absorb the water. As soon you
get a sludgy consistency you can start to recycle the clay. I put this sludge
on the plaster bat for a few hours. The plaster will soak the water out of the
clay-slurry. When the clay sludge doesn’t stick to the plaster any more, I turn
it around like a pancake. I wait again for clay to stiffen a bit, taking care
it doesn’t over dry. Now I can wedge the clay to ensure it gets nice and smooth
and without any air bubbles. Since I am recycling huge amounts of clay I have
to store them well so that they don’t dry. The freshly prepared clay will be wrapped
with plastic and kept in an air-tight container.

This whole
process is quite easy, but it requires some time. When I notice that I am
losing the focus in my over-creative state of mind this is the perfect thing to
do. Stick your hands into the dirt and let your brain reboot.